- Samuel Steward’s Life in ‘Secret Historian’ – NYTimes.com – When the author Justin Spring finally tracked down the executor of Samuel Steward’s estate, he had no idea what this sexual outlaw and little-known literary figure had left behind after his death in 1993…So he was taken unawares by the 80 boxes full of drawings, letters, photographs, sexual paraphernalia, manuscripts and other items, including an autograph and reliquary with pubic hair from Rudolph Valentino, a thousand-page confessional journal Steward created at the request of the sex researcher Alfred Kinsey, and a green metal card catalog labeled “Stud File,” which contained a meticulously documented record on index cards of every sexual experience and partner — Rock Hudson, Thornton Wilder, “One-eyed Sadist” — that Steward said he had had over 50 years.
- Interrogating Sexual Intentions on Mad Men | Cory Silverberg – Whatever the season brings I plan to follow Don's lesson about sex to Peggy; "Sex doesn't sell. You are the product. You feeling something is what sells." Watching characters we know have sex, particularly the ones we think are hot, may be fun, but it's what the sex makes them feel, makes us feel, that's far more interesting.
- The Lesbians Who Love Male Gay Porn – The Daily Beast – “I wouldn’t have guessed lesbians would want to watch porn that didn’t have women,” said a straight woman who recently saw the Lisa Cholodenko comedy.
- Prohibitionists, where are the answers when comparing sex work and straight work « Bound, Not Gagged – I have been far more harmed by “straight jobs” than I ever was as either a stripper or an independent escort.
- GLAAD – Publications – Network Responsibility Index: 2009 – 2010 – The fourth annual GLAAD Network Responsibility Index is an evaluation of the quantity, quality and diversity of images of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people on television. It is intended to serve as a road map toward increasing fair, accurate and inclusive LGBT media representations.<br />
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Primetime programming on the five broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, The CW, Fox and NBC) was evaluated as well as 10 highly-rated cable networks (A&E, ABC Family, FX, HBO, Lifetime, MTV, Showtime, TBS, TNT and USA). Based on the analysis, a grade was assigned to each network: Excellent, Good, Adequate, or Failing.
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- Vibrator Use Among Gay and Bi Identified Men – About.com Guide to Sexuality Cory Silverberg highlights findings by scientist Michael Reece, who recently published data about vibrating sex toy use among gay and bisexual men. "Along with Debby Herbenick and colleagues at Indiana University's Center for Sexual Health Promotion, Reece has managed to find the funding and time to conduct basic research on sex toy use that has long been needed," Cory writes.
- Gay Workers Will Get Time to Care for Partner’s Sick Child – NYTimes.com – The new ruling indicates that an employee in a same-sex relationship can qualify for leave to care for the child of his or her partner, even if the worker has not legally adopted the child.<br />
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The ruling, in a formal opinion letter, tackles a question not explicitly addressed in the 1993 law. It is one of many actions taken by the Obama administration to respond to the concerns of gay men and lesbians within the constraints of the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman as husband and wife. - The Myth of Lesbian Bed Death (Village Voice) – But where did this idea of “lesbian bed death” come from? Thank sociologist Pepper Schwartz, who, in her 1983 book American Couples, asserted that lesbians have less sex and intimacy than other couples. Although her methodology and results were later challenged, the idea of lesbian bed death has taken on a life of its own, with damaging results.
- Talking Sex, With Kink Educators and Anti-Porn Activists | Amanda Hess (Washinton City Paper) – If KinkForAll and “Porn Harms” have one thing in common, it’s an obsession with airing taboos.
- Can a Pill Help Women Reach Orgasm? – Barbara Kantrowitz – Newsweek.com – Canner hit on the topic after years of doing documentaries on subjects like human-rights abuses, police brutality, and poverty. Looking for something more upbeat, she was researching female sexuality when she got a call from the pharmaceutical company Vivus, which wanted her to create erotic videos to use in their clinical study of an “orgasm cream” for women.
- Good Vibrations And The Clitoris Saving Alien Cult: News: SFAppeal – The furor boiled to the rim when in late March, Good Vibes got angrily and publicly called out by a feminist Facebook group, a professor of African politics at USF, feminist email lists and a significant number of sexual health professionals and sex educators in multiple countries. Why? It seems that the venerable retailer, with its reputation and history for championing empowered female sexuality, had publicly aligned its brand with, and intended to raise money for an organization called Clitoraid.
- Protecting Your Privacy Online | The Beautiful Kind – It’s one thing to be far too public on the web and voluntarily offer more information than necessary, but it’s another when other sources are the culprits. Even the most smug of people who refuse to use Facebook, Twitter or even the internet itself are just as much at risk of having their personal information and identity leaked via the web. Knowledge is power when being proactive about protecting your personal privacy, and I’d like to go over a few of those areas.
- Swinger Tests China’s Sexual Morals – NYTimes.com – On Thursday, a court sentenced the randy Mr. Ma to three and a half years in prison, a severe penalty for a crime that the Chinese government calls “crowd licentiousness.†Mr. Ma, now China’s most famous swinger, remains defiant and plans to appeal, saying his sex life is his own business, not subject to the law as long as he causes no social disturbance, according to his lawyer, Yao Yong’an.
- Getting Down and Turned On: Pornography and Society Today | StealingKitty – We are here, we are horny, and our perversions are pushing the envelope of sexual boundaries. Better get used to it. The best place to start the discussion is defining what is porn, erotica, or obscenity in our culture today.
My pals MayMay and Emma have entered the Young Visionaries Contest being run by the International Women’s Health Coalition (IWHC). The contest winner receives a $1,000 USD grant to fund a project that will create lasting change in the world and advocate for the rights and health of women and young people worldwide.
Their project proposal called SexEdEverywhere, involves creating a new media campaign and network of educational websites based on the premise that we learn about sex in many locations and from a variety of sources, not just health class in schools. The funding and recognition from the IWHC can seriously help their vision a reality.
Having been involved with helping organize Kinkforall(s) and been a guest on KinkonTap a few times, I know they are extremely passionate about, and extremely competent at, spreading knowledge and helping educate young people about sex and sexuality.
You can read more about the project and also vote by visiting http://j.mp/seeiwhc. Make sure you click on the “Vote!” button on the first screen. No signup necessary.
